1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the fields of biology and neuroscience. More specifically, the invention comprises a device and method for preserving tissue samples such as brain tissue.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many laboratories use acute brain slices for physiological research. These samples are particularly useful for neurophysiological research directed toward understanding human diseases such as Alzheimer's. Parkinson's, and epilepsy. Such work relies on the health/viability of cut slices of brain tissue to gather crucial physiological and pharmacological data using, electrophysiological techniques.
The preservation of brain tissue samples has proven to be particularly difficult owing to the ephemeral nature of the tissue. Adult brain tissue is particularly susceptible to rapid degradation. It is therefore desirable to provide a device and method which can prolong the viability of tissue samples such as brain tissue samples. A method which can preserve such samples for 6-8 hours after sectioning is needed. The present invention provides such a device and method.